Don't Call It East Jerusalem!

'East Jerusalem.' You've heard it time and again. But what does it mean?

You'll often hear analysts speak of the West Bank and 'East Jerusalem' suggesting that these two geographies are separate and unique. You may see statistics about settlers disaggregated by these geographies as well. Here in Tom Friedman's recent piece, even when he is attempting to show Israel some 'tough love,' he still toes the Israeli line:

It is a measure of how spoiled Israel has become that after billions and billions of dollars in U.S. aid and 300,000 settlers already ensconced in the West Bank, Israel feels no compunction about spurning an American request for a longer settlement freeze — the only purpose of which is to help the United States help Israel reach a secure peace with the Palestinians.

300,000? The number of settlers that live in occupied territory is well over 500,000, so how did a couple hundred thousand disappear? It's because Friedman, and many others who do this, intentionally or subconsciously have accepted the Israeli narrative that 'East Jerusalem' is somehow different from the remainder of the occupied West Bank simply because the Israelis say it is. This creates the misconception that the status of settlers in 'East Jerusalem' is somehow different, that 'East Jerusalem' is less of a problem, or that those settlements in 'East Jerusalem' are not as contentious.

This is the same Israeli narrative which responds to international demands to stop expanding settlements like Pisgat Ze'ev or Ramot Shlomo by saying "Jerusalem is the capital of Israel. It is not a settlement."Rep. Gary Ackerman, chair of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, regurgitated that AIPAC talking point in a recent statement.

One needs to look at a map to really understand what is happening here. We put together a video on settlements and restrictions facing Palestinians in Jerusalem which helps explain this.

The territory occupied by Israel in 1967 included what was east of the 1949 armistice line, or the 'Green Line' which constitutes the entirety of the West Bank. Israel, unilaterally, decided to annex a chunk of that territory and this annexation is not recognized by the United States, the United Nations or any other party. So regardless of what Israel calls the territory, whether they want to call it 'East Jerusalem,' Zaire or Mars, international law and in the international community call it occupied territory over which Israel has no legal jurisdiction to transfer its civilian population.

It's actually a quite simple principle. So simple in fact, we teach it in kindergarten. It's called "coloring inside the lines." The Israelis, and those who have adopted or support their narrative, refuse to color inside the lines. Of course the implications of these policies are far more grave than creating sloppy artwork. That is why the United States should stop acting like Israel's unconditionally loving parents, who proudly hang the indiscernible artwork on the fridge, and call it what is is: a monstrosity of occupation.

Sometimes its difficult to discuss this issue and the geography without using the term 'East Jerusalem' to convey what area is being referred to. It becomes dangerous, however, when 'East Jerusalem' is used to create the idea that its simply the symmetrical opposite of West Jerusalem which is west of the 'Green Line.' 'East Jerusalem' is not like Northwest DC or the Lower East Side. This isn't just another neighborhood in a sovereign city; it is in fact beyond an internationally recognized demarcation. The average American however, unfamiliar with the geography or occupation, who reads Friedman or hears Ackerman, is not likely to make the distinction.

The language we use - the choice of words - is vital. For Palestinians, using 'East Jerusalem' without putting it in the proper context of occupation when speaking to Western audiences, is simply self-colonization and the internalization of a colonial narrative. For others, this is an similarly dangerous trap which must be avoided, and more often than not it hasn't been.

Lines are drawn to demarcate positions, both moral and geographic, and by ignoring the fact that the occupied territory which Israel calls 'East Jerusalem' is as much occupied as any other part of the West Bank including Nablus, Jericho and Hebron, is the same as justifying that occupation.

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